Honda to furlough salaried U.S. workers, extend Mexican plant shutdown

WASHINGTON —  Honda Motor Co. said Wednesday it plans to furlough most U.S. salaried workers for two weeks and will extend a shutdown of its Mexican plants through April 30 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Honda began its suspension of operations in North America on March 23 and previously extended its shutdown in Canada and the United States through May 1.

The company said the majority of its “salaried and support associates at Honda operations in the U.S. will be furloughed for a two-week period.”

For Honda employees in California, the first day of the furlough will be April 17 with a scheduled return to work on May 1. For U.S. salaried employees outside California, the first day of the furlough is April 19. with a scheduled return to work on May 4.

Last week, Honda said it would furlough factory workers at its U.S. plants.

Laurence Iliff contributed to this report.